Best Classical Music This Weekend With Daniil Trifonov, Yuja Wang, and Michael Tilson Thomas
Daniil Trifonov
Classical music lovers can still enjoy acclaimed pianist Daniil Trifonov’s Carnegie Hall performance on February 9, despite the event being sold out. Medici.TV will bring the brilliant performance live via webcast, free of charge, to the worldwide audience.
The event will take place at 8 p.m. Saturday, February 9, in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage.
Winner of Gramophone’s 2016 Artist of the Year award, Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov has made a spectacular ascent in the world of classical music as a solo artist, a champion of the concerto repertoire, a collaborator at the keyboard in chamber music and song, and a composer. The Times (UK) calls Trifonov “without question the most astounding pianist of our age.” Last season, Daniil Trifonov was the youngest artist ever to curate a Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall.
In Cleveland, Conductor Alan Gilbert makes his sole U.S. appearance of the season this February, when he leads the Cleveland Orchestra in performances of Haydn’s “Military” Symphony and Busoni’s epic Piano Concerto. For his upcoming return to the orchestra on February 7 and 9, Gilbert pairs Haydn’s “Military” Symphony with Busoni’s Piano Concerto, featuring Garrick Ohlsson and men from the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.
In San Francisco, Stenberg | Cahill Duo will perform a Refugee Benefit Concert on Friday, February 8, at Zion Lutheran Church. Presented in partnership with Interfaith Refugee Welcome, all proceeds will go directly to Dirty Girls of Lesvos, an on-the-ground NGO that has pioneered the cleaning and redistribution of used and discarded clothing, bedding, and other materials for humanitarian relief. At the performance, founder Alison Terry-Evans will share the powerful story of Dirty Girls’ work in the refugee camps of Lesvos and on mainland Greece.
NEW YORK CITY
1. Carnegie Hall: Daniil Trifonov
Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov will bring his spectacular work to Carnegie Hall in New York City. The evening’s program includes Beethoven’s Andante in F Major, WoO 57 ("Andante favori") and Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3; Schumann’s Bunte Blätter and Presto passionate; and Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major.
8 p.m. Saturday, February 9
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Daniil Trifonov, piano
2. 92nd Street Y: Juilliard String Quartet & Marc-André Hamelin
The Juilliard String Quartet brings its unparalleled artistry back to 92Y in a splendid program. Renowned pianist and 92Y favorite, Marc-André Hamelin joins the quartet in the concert’s second half for a performance of Dvořák’s lyrical, folk music-inspired piano quintet — one of the masterworks of the art form.
7:30 p.m. Friday, February 8
Kaufmann Concert Hall, 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Avenue, New York City, New York, NY 10128
The Juilliard String Quartet; Marc-André Hamelin, piano
3. Carnegie Hall: Yuja Wang, Igudesman & Joo
Pianist Yuja Wang’s artistry knows no bounds. So does her sense of fun. In what promises to be an evening of laughter and dizzying virtuosity, she joins the irrepressible classical music comedy duo Igudesman & Joo. Be prepared for an anything-goes concert. This event is part of the Perspectives: Yuja Wang series.
7:30 p.m. Monday, February 11
Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019
Yuja Wang, piano; Igudesman & Joo
CLEVELAND
1. Maltz Performing Arts Center: ChamberFest Cleveland
In anticipation of Season 8, ChamberFest Cleveland is pleased to announce a winter concert offering! Showcasing ChamberFest’s Founder and Artistic Director Franklin Cohen, the program will feature the two greatest masterpieces for clarinet and string quartet. Cohen will be joined by up-and-coming, award-winning cellist and ChamberFest fan-favorite, Oliver Herbert, along with Curtis Institute of Music’s violinists Claire Bourg and Alina Kolbialka, and violist Grace Tekada. The Mozart Clarinet Quintet and the Brahms Clarinet Quintet will anchor this not-to-be-missed performance.
7:30 p.m., Thursday, February 7
Maltz Performing Arts Center at the Temple Tifereth Israel, 1855 Ansel Road, Cleveland, OH 44106
Franklin Cohen, clarinet, ChamberFest founder and artistic director; Oliver Herbert, cello; Claire Bourg, violin; Alina Kolbialka, violin; Grace Tekada, viol; Mozart Clarinet Quintet; Brahms Clarinet Quintet
2. Cleveland Orchestra: Ohlsson Plays Busoni
Lisztian in its grandeur, Mahlerian in scope, Bachian in counterpoint … Busoni’s epic and rarely-performed Piano Concerto received great acclaim when Garrick Ohlsson recorded it with The Cleveland Orchestra. Now, thirty years later, Alan Gilbert fulfills a personal ambition, bringing this pairing back to Cleveland audiences.
7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 7; 8 p.m. Saturday, February 9
Severance Hall, 11001 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
The Cleveland Orchestra, Alan Gilbert, conductor; Garrick Ohlsson, piano; Men of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus
3. Cleveland Opera Theater: {NOW} Fest 2019
{NOW} Fest, a unique blend of process and performance, presents new opera at the beginning, middle, and end stages of creative development, ranging from readings and workshops to complete productions. Repertoire includes works commissioned by Cleveland Opera Theater and in partnership with other opera companies and institutions. This festival is presented in-residence at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, with collaborations also with Oberlin Conservatory, Bowling Green State University, Cleveland Institute of Music, Hiram College, and the Cleveland Composers’ Guild.
Various times, Monday-Sunday, February 4-10
Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, 275 Eastland Rd. Berea, Ohio 44017
Jake Heggie, composer and piano; Ann Moss, soprano; Baldwin Wallace Symphony Orchestra
SAN FRANCISCO
1. San Francisco Symphony: MTT, Gil Shaham, and Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony
Steven Mackey fetes Michael Tilson Thomas (MTT)’s 75th birthday and 25th anniversary as music director of the San Francisco Symphony with Portals, Scenes and Celebrations, a colorful, energetic work that receives its world premiere on February 7. Also, MTT unleashes the forces of the orchestra in Tchaikovsky's barnstorming Fourth Symphony.
8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, February 7-9
Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor; Gil Shaham, violin; San Francisco Symphony
2. Benefit Concerts At Zion: Stenberg | Cahill Duo
On this program, Stenberg | Cahill Duo presents 20th- and 21st-century works including Gabriela Lena Frank’s Suenos de Chambi (Snapshots for an Andean Album), Kaija Saariaho’s Tocar, Linda Catlin Smith’s With Their Shadows Long, Henry Cowell’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, and Grażyna Bacewicz’ Stained Glass Window and Melodia. Their program also includes Aaron Gervais’ Talking in Circles, commissioned by the Stenberg | Cahill Duo through InterMusic SF's Musical Grant Program.
7:30 p.m. Friday, February 8
Zion Lutheran Church, 495 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA
Stenberg | Cahill Duo: Sarah Cahill, piano, and Kate Stenberg, violin
3. Oakland Symphony: An Evening With Emanuel Ax
Master pianist Emanuel Ax joins Music Director and Conductor Michael Morgan and the Oakland Symphony for an all-Beethoven program, including the youthful First Piano Concerto and the joyous Choral Fantasy. This is a one-night-only event at the Paramount Theatre.
8 p.m. Friday, February 8
Paramount Theatre, 2025 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612
Emanuel Ax, piano; David Chavez, tenor; William Lawley, baritone; Katherine Crabill, soprano; Karen Notovitz, soprano; William Sauerland, alto and conductor; Lorenzo Ramsey, tenor; Oakland Symphony Chorus; Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus; MUSE VIVO Orchestra; Michael Morgan, music director and conductor; Oakland Symphony